This past Saturday and Sunday all three of us enjoyed a little get-away in the northern Wisconsin woods for the first year residency retreat. The highlight of the weekend was our trip to the tubing hill. What is it about a hill covered in snow mixed with the whooshing of freezing wind past your ears as you fly downward on a rubber tube? It’s an adventure at any age!
We bundled Ella in her pink snowsuit and boots, plopped on her hat, and tried to convince her it really was for her own good that she keep her mittens on. We weren’t great examples. Neither Pete or I had hats since we had only planned for Ella to go sledding. I had pictured a gentle hill, a small ditch perhaps, for her first true sledding excursion. Instead we ended up here with a bunch of crazy docs who, in typical resident fashion, went well above and beyond the regular tubing style. (Think three tubes, one person.)
Ella absolutely loved it! She was incredibly brave as the three of us barreled down the hill, side-by-side. Then Daddy would pull her back to the top (a great reason to always go sledding with Daddy) and we would do it all over again. We kept this up until Pete & I realized how cold our ears were.
So back to the cabin we went where we cozied up to the fire and continued to relax. It was a lovely mini vacation, indeed.
Oh! I almost forgot! Here is a video of Ella’s first trip down the hill. It’s a bit rough in places, but I was, after all, speeding down a hill for most of the recording. If you expand it to full screen, you may be able to see it better.
